Board Game Creators Showcase Work At Katonah Library

Josh Paugh and Ben Krieger, graduates of SUNY New Paltz, invented new card game called Ambyria: Shroud of the Shadow Demon.Photo Credit: ContributedAmbyria: Shroud of the Shadow Demon will be one of the games Katonah Village Library patrons can play this month.Photo Credit: Contributed

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KATONAH, N.Y. -- The Katonah Village Library is celebrating board games for four days in January by inviting people of all ages to spend time playing old and new games.

One of the brand-new games to be presented will be Ambyria: Shroud of the Shadow Demon, a tabletop card game developed by two local entrepreneurs, Ben Krieger and Josh Paugh, in 2014.

Krieger, a computer program developer, and Paugh, a physics teacher, are friends and graduates of SUNY New Paltz. One night, with nothing better to do, they just spontaneously started to develop a card game. As they worked on it and tweaked it, they realized it was a game that would appeal to hard-core gamers and beginners alike.

“We wanted to have a good time, and you can’t play Pictionary with just two people. It turned out our ideas complemented one another, and we began to make a lot of progress quickly," said Paugh.

To raise money for production of the game, Paugh and Krieger used the online crowdfunding website Kickstarter. By the time the fundraising campaign ended in August 2015, they had raised more than $15,000 from over 200 donors. Both men have been touring the country and premiering Ambryia: Shroud of the Shadow Demon at national and regional gaming conventions.

People of all ages and skills are welcome to play old and new board games. The gaming sessions take place Sunday from 1:30-3:30 p.m.; Fridays, Jan. 15 and Jan. 29, from 7-9 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 23, 1:30-3:30 p.m.